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Profile: Shane Burgess

Shane Burgess has received accolades for his research primarily in agricultural genomics. However, if you talk to him about some of his favorite research, he might surprise you.

Burgess embraces his administrative roles as an associate dean in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and as director of two MSU Institutes (the Institute for Digital Biology and Life Science and Biotechnology Institute).

"I'm most excited about the work done by our faculty researchers, who have national and international reputations," he said.

And there are more on the way. "We also have some exceptional new faculty hires MSU-wide and a new team of clinical researchers in CVM who I think we will hear a lot more from as well," he added.

Burgess says he now sees a shift in his role from researcher to advocate and supporter. "I feel my primary contribution to MSU is to help people develop the resources they need to stay nationally prominent and competitive. I'm also seeking opportunities for the university to grow its reputation and usefulness to the nation."

With increasing numbers of researchers vying for rapidly shrinking competitive funding sources, Burgess says his background as a researcher also helps provide insight into what researchers most need during current challenging financial times.